(L) Novelette Peterkin, Carver CEO, standing with Valerie Watson, Carver board member and VP at Patriot Bank
We’ve been sharing stories about this initiative since last summer. Now, this important plaque in the life of the Carver community and the City of Norwalk is a reality! Yesterday’s unveiling event coincided with Jamaica’s National Heroes Day.
We are proud that Novelette Peterkin, Carver’s CEO, is one among six of the Jamaican-American Honorary Members of the Jamaican Heritage Trust of Norwalk who inspired this initiative. All the other members know Carver well: Janet Evelyn, the Founder and Executive Director of the sponsoring charity, NICE; Valerie Watson, Vice President of Patriot Bank, and a member of Carver’s Board of Directors; George Daley, Norwalk Police Department; Ingrid Aarons-Porter, LMSW; and Diane Jellerette, Executive Director, Norwalk Historical Society (which included Carver in its “Norwalk: Portrait of Diversity” exhibit).
Dozens of people dear to this cause gathered at Norwalk’s Heritage Wall yesterday to unveil the new plaque honoring all those of Jamaican descent who have lived in and contributed to making the City of Norwalk as great as it is and all those who do so today and will do even more in the future.
Mayor Harry Rilling proclaimed October 17 as “Jamaican Heritage Day in Norwalk” and read the city’s Proclamation. Norwalk Common Council member Greg Burnett, a longtime friend of Carver, joined other city officials in making this moment special.
Senator Bob Duff and Representative Lucy Dathan also joined the festivities and read the citation honoring this initiative on behalf of the Connecticut General Assembly. Lucy Dathan is the State Representative for the 142nd District in New Canaan/Norwalk serving her constituents since 2019. Senator Bob Duff represents Connecticut’s 25th Senatorial District, which includes Norwalk and Darien. Re-elected to the State Senate in 2020, he was chosen by his Senate colleagues in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2021 to serve as Senate Majority Leader.
Our George Washington Carver Community Center is within walking distance of Norwalk’s Heritage Wall. According to the Pew Research Center’s counting of countries of birth, Jamaicans are the largest group of immigrants in Connecticut. Jamaican immigration to the U.S. increased during the civil rights era of the 1960s. Jamaican Americans have always been involved in the Carver community.
